Chapter 2

"Queenie, I told you to get water. Are you deaf or something?" Vaughn's voice turned sharp when he saw me, usually so meek, suddenly ignore him.

My wandering thoughts snapped back to reality.

I looked around at the sea of green. No one would ever guess that in half an hour, a terrifying wildfire would destroy everything.

"Queenie, why didn't you tell us to bring more water before we started hiking? Go down and get some now," the girl snapped, her tone icy.

I stared right back at her, thinking how absurd she was.

Wasn't it the supply manager's job to handle this stuff? Why was it suddenly my responsibility?

"Queenie, are you mute or deaf? I'm only going to say this one more time. Go get water." Vaughn's voice shot up, and he looked seriously pissed, as I'd just stepped on his turf.

If things played out as they did in my previous life, in half an hour, a dry lightning strike would hit the brittle leaves and set the whole place ablaze.

This was my chance to get off the mountain, and I had to seize it.

I quickly shot Vaughn an apologetic look. "Sorry, Vaughn, I zoned out for a moment. I'll head down and get the water right now."

After that, I glanced at my classmates, all looking wiped out, and Rowan. "We've been hiking for ages. Everyone's probably starving. I'll pick up some snacks too, so we can all refuel."

Their faces relaxed, clearly satisfied with my offer to help, and the anger melted away.

I grabbed my backpack and hurried down the mountain.

Behind me, I could hear my classmates gloating. "Queenie, hurry up. Don't keep us waiting too long."

I turned back and called out, "Hope you all have a blast up there. See you when I get back."

Which would come first, the wildfire's blessing or my return?

Recent days of relentless heat and drought had turned piles of leaves and brush into a serious fire hazard, just waiting to ignite.

And then, a single lightning strike would be the spark that set the whole mountain ablaze.

Everything on this mountain would be swallowed up by the raging inferno.

I remembered it all too well; when the fire closed in from every direction, there was almost no way to save myself.

The wildfire tore through everything, burning down houses, and two firefighters didn't make it out alive.

Staring down a disaster like this, I couldn't help but feel fear creeping in.

Could I really get myself out of here in just half an hour?

In my previous life, I saw a wildfire. All I could see was a sea of blazing flames.

So I had to figure out a way. When the fire came, I needed to make sure I could keep myself as safe as possible.

My teacher always said, if one ever found oneself in a forest fire, one didn't just panic and run anywhere one felt like.

First, one always checked the wind direction and ran against it.

There was also heavy smoke and deadly carbon monoxide during a fire. Breathing in too much and one was done for. So, one should use wet clothes to cover one's mouth and nose.

This mountain had lots of ways down, plenty of exits if one needed to escape.

I grabbed my phone and saw the wind was blowing from the southwest. I didn't waste a second. I headed straight for the path that went against the wind, so the flames wouldn't chase me down.

Next up was water.

No one gave me any water before I climbed the mountain, but right before I left, I picked up two half-finished bottles the others had tossed on the ground.

That was enough to soak my clothes.

As I made my way down the mountain, the sky started to darken, just like back in my previous life, and thunder rumbled in the distance every now and then.

The nightmare was about to start.

On my way down, I bumped into a mountain ranger. He looked at me and said, "Hey, didn't your whole class come up here today? Why are you the only one I see?"

Then he added, "The weather's turning nasty. We're shutting down the mountain."

I kept my cool and replied, "I twisted my ankle on the way up, so I'm moving a bit slower. That's why I'm not with my classmates."

Then I added, "Hey, Sir, the weather's turning bad. Maybe you should do a quick check before it gets totally dark? If you wait too long and can't get down, it could be a real headache."

The ranger hesitated, glancing up toward the depths of the mountain. He didn't look like he was eager to hike all the way up just to check. "At the pace you're going, I doubt anyone's lagging behind you," he said.

Then he added, "Besides, our lives count, too, you know? No way I'm risking my neck for that."

With that, he grabbed his keys and went off to lock up the entrance.

As I listened to the crisp click of the lock, a sly grin crept onto my face. Well, it was time to let these people die.